


Burnout

by Phoenix_Sparrow



Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Alternate episode, Gen, Recharge rewrite, episode AU, episode reimagining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-25
Updated: 2017-02-25
Packaged: 2018-09-26 21:28:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9922847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoenix_Sparrow/pseuds/Phoenix_Sparrow
Summary: A reimagining of the episode Recharge from series 1. Scott pushes himself a lot further than Virgil realises





	

Scott looked around from his position in the back of the pod. He’d been angry enough at himself when he’d crashed his own pod and been forced to ride with Virgil, but all he felt now was sheer frustration as Virgil’s driving decreased in speed.

“Why are you slowing down?” he asked, irritably.

“I can barely make out two feet in front of me,” Virgil responded, his voice remaining calm and level.

“It’s just a little ice fog,” Scott responded, rolling his eyes. “We’ve been through worse.”

Virgil nodded in agreement, vividly recalling worse cases of reduced or limited visibility. “True, but it’s not just the fog I’m worried about,” he explained, still driving unbearably slow. “We’re driving over an ice field littered with cracks, some of them hundreds of metres deep. There’s no way our sensors can cut through this soup.”

Scott tried his hardest not to growl in his agitation. He just wanted to get there, people were depending on them. He looked over Virgil’s shoulder when he heard Brains’ voice cut through his thoughts. “ _Virgil, this would be a p-perfect opportunity to test Max’s scanning ability. He can plot a safe c-course around even the tiniest of cracks._ ”

“Sounds good to me, even a small one could swallow this pod whole,” Virgil said, reaching out steady hands and activating the control to lower their robotic companion to ground level. “Alright Max, time to live up to your name.”

Scott looked over at Virgil, confused. “Huh?”

Virgil tilted his head toward Scott slightly. He was quite surprised that Scott didn’t understand as Brains had told them often enough that Max was an acronym. “Mechanical Assistant, Experimental? Remember?”

A look of dawning comprehension crossed Scott’s face, causing Virgil to frown a little. Scott was being so erratic at the minute and he kept forgetting things. The younger Tracy was worried about his oldest sibling.

He returned his attention to the view in front of him as Max reached the ground.

“ _That’s it, Max,_ ” Brains called over their comm. line. “ _Steady as she goes._ ”

Max probed the floor then straightened up and waved them on, trundling along with the pod following them.

Scott fidgeted in his seat. Max was indeed leading them through safely but it was still ridiculously slow. “It’s gaining in intensity, we don’t have much time,” he said. Almost without realising, this time his frustration got the better of him and he did let out a small growl. “Pick up the pace, Max!”

Suddenly, without warning, the ground below Max crumbled and the little robot fell with an almost frightened sounding series of beeps and whistles.

“Oh, Max!” Virgil called out, his tone full of concern. He registered the voice of Brains crying out and remembered the scientist telling them he’d linked what Max was seeing to a receiver so he could experience it too. “Hold on!” he called, addressing mostly Max but also Brains as well, knowing how fond the man was of his machine.

He manoeuvred the pod as close as he dared and extended the arm down to where Max was desperately clinging to the newly formed cliff face. “I can just about reach…” As he spoke, the edge crumbled more, tilting their pod towards the crevice. Below them, he saw Max leap to grab another outcropping as the one he was holding fell away. “The weight of the pod is making the ledge unstable,” he reported, already looking around for an alternative. He could see Scott out of the corner of his eye. He looked worried, but Virgil wasn’t sure if it was for Max or the delay. “Hang on, Max, I’ll try another angle.”

Jamming the machine into reverse, he directed the vehicle to a new point on the ledge and lowered the arm once more. “Come on, Max,” he muttered.

Just as the arm reached him, the ledge shifted again but Virgil reacted quickly, guiding the arm to grab Max just in time as he slipped from his position. “Ah! I got him!” he called, relief in his voice.

“Phew,” Scott said, sitting back in his seat. Virgil glanced behind at him as Max was lifted back to more stable ground. Scott’s mood was swinging worse than Jekyll and Hyde.

“ _Th-thank you, Virgil,_ ” Brains said softly over the radio.

Virgil turned back and smiled at him, but it slipped quickly as he regarded the still slightly crumbling crevice. “That’s it,” he said, putting as much authority as he could in his tone and hoping Scott would listen. Technically, Scott was the Field Commander, but Virgil knew that he could be hot headed. Looks like today was one of those times. “We are gonna have to wait until the fog clears.” He knew the reaction was coming and it barely took him a second to retaliate.

“If we stop now we’ll lose precious time,” he snapped.

“And if we don’t, we might not make it at all,” Virgil reasoned. He directed the pod, with Max’s help, to a relatively safe position, then stopped and climbed out.

“And what exactly are you planning on doing now?” Scott asked, standing in his seat and leaning over the side to watch his brother’s movements.

“I’m setting up a hotspot for us to take shelter in,” he said, pulling the kit out of a compartment in the underside of the vehicle. “You’re welcome to help me,” he added.

Scott rolled his eyes then climbed down. “Help you waste valuable time, why not?”

Virgil glared at him as he pulled the pop up tent from within the kit. With a sharp tug it unfurled and Virgil dropped it to the floor at Scott’s feet. He then handed him the rest of the kit. “Just go set up the heat unit, will you?”

He took it from him without another word and headed inside, ducking his head to get in, especially where he still wore his helmet.

Virgil watched him go then sighed sadly as he started to peg down the tent with the grounding spikes, fired from a gun into the floor to drive them in as far as possible.

* * *

When he walked into the tent and did up the door to keep the heat in, he saw Scott had taken one of the beds and was lying down on it, facing the canvas. He’d removed his helmet and discarded it on the floor next to him.

“Scott?” Virgil asked, softly. He approached and sat on the end of the bed the elder Tracy had chosen, reaching out to him, but Scott drew away, curling in on himself.

“Go away, Virgil,” he murmured. He knew what Virgil wanted. His brother was a big believer in talking it out and discussing to try and resolve problems. Right now, Scott just didn’t want to face him.

Virgil nodded, sighing as he removed his own helmet and sat on the other bed. “What’s going on with you today?” he asked, trying to keep his tone from sounding accusatory.

“Me?” Scott asked, sitting up and glaring at him. He felt an almost grim satisfaction at seeing Virgil flinch a little. “We’re on a mission! We need to do everything we can to get there ASAP and you’re taking the scenic route!” His tone was rising the more he spoke, becoming more and more agitated.

Virgil sighed again but kept his tone even. He didn’t want to antagonise his brother any further. “It’s the safe route,” he replied simply. The scoff he received in reply sent up alarms in his mind. _Uh oh, he’s trying to push too hard._

“I didn’t come here to be safe,” he hissed at him, narrowing his eyes. “We need to get to the danger zone as quick as we can and you’re stalling.”

“Scott, I’m only trying to keep us safe,” Virgil insisted. He didn’t like the look Scott was giving him. And was it just the orange glow of the heating cube, or did his eyes look shadowed? “We won’t reach the danger zone at all if we end up at the bottom of an ice crack. You’re so darned determined you don’t see the danger. We almost lost Max.”

“Max is just a machine,” Scott retorted, waving a dismissive hand. “Brains is always breaking him apart and making him stronger.”

“That’s not the point, and we’re not machines,” Virgil said.

“No. We’re just humans,” he said, his tone suddenly softening as he turned away and lay back down.

Virgil watched him, worry coursing through him as he lowered his head and reached out his hands to warm them over the heating cube.

* * *

A few hours later, Brains appeared over Virgil’s wrist. “ _Virgil, according to Max’s sensors, the fog s-seems to have lifted._ ”

“Alright, thank you, Brains,” Virgil responded, straightening and standing from his position to approach Scott. He hadn’t said a word since their argument and Virgil thought he’d actually managed to get some rest. “Scott?”

The elder Tracy sat up, covering his face with his hands as he lowered his feet to the floor and leaned over.

“Sleep alright?” Virgil asked kindly, picking up his helmet to offer to him.

“Didn’t sleep,” he mumbled, scrubbing his hands across his face then looked over at Virgil.

Virgil couldn’t help but gasp a little at the state of Scott. His eyes were definitely shadowed and he looked exhausted, almost hopeless. “Scott, maybe you should stay here in the warm and Max and I’ll carry on to the danger zone.”

“No!” he snapped, snatching his helmet and jamming it back onto his head. He shoved past Virgil and strode out of the tent, leaving the younger man to break camp.

* * *

Virgil finished packing everything away then climbed into the driver’s seat. Scott was already sat there, drumming his fingers on the cockpit wall. As the canopy closed, he moved his hand to cross his arms. “Could you have taken any longer?”

“You do realise I could have been done in half the time if you’d actually helped me,” Virgil replied. His patience was beginning to wear thin with Scott’s attitude but having seen the look in Scott’s eyes earlier, he couldn’t bring himself to be mad at him. He was too concerned as to what might be causing the attitude.

Scott just rolled his eyes and sat back in his seat.

Virgil sighed. “Ready?” he asked. Scott ignored him, but Brains responded over the comm. with an affirmative.

“I just hope we made it in time,” Scott muttered as Virgil engaged the engine.

“ _The generator is moments away from a massive bl-blowout,_ ” Brains reported to them.

Virgil heard a derisive snort from Scott behind him and a quiet “Of course it is. Because we took too long,” uttered angrily before Brains finished what he was saying.

 _“By my calculations, the magnitude of the discharge will cause a geomagnetic reversal._ ”

“Which means?” Scott asked.

“ _The earth’s magnetic poles will flip. That event m-might be considered catastrophic._ ”

“Might, he says,” Scott grumbled.

“Scott, that’s enough!” Virgil chastised. “We’re arriving, get ready to disembark.”

They pulled up outside of the station and quickly made their way towards it.

“What exactly happens if the poles flip?” Scott asked as they ran.

“ _The most likely result will be a dramatic ch-change in weather patterns resulting in crop damage and worldwide starvation,_ ” Brains advised.

“Ah. That sounds pretty catastrophic to me,” Scott replied sarcastically.

Virgil glanced at him as they approached the front of the building. He didn’t look any better, if anything, he was starting to look worse. His skin looked quite pale, but it was difficult to tell in the light from the aurora borealis flickering dizzyingly overhead.

“ _According to the schematics, the manual override is housed at the core section. I’ve sent Max the route. Lead the way, Max._ ”

The two brothers followed Max into the structure, looking around them as they went and noting the way the floor seemed to almost vibrate with the power being drawn from the atmosphere.

“ _The energy core should be just through those walls,_ ” Brains reported as they reached the end of a corridor.

“And the engineer?” Scott asked. Virgil was relieved to see that he seemed to have slipped back into rescuer mode, his demeanour professional in the face of someone who needed their help.

“ _M-Max has located her heartbeat. She’s inside the main shut off area._ ”

“She’s still here?” Scott asked, his tone disbelieving.

“Pushing to the limit. Remind you of anyone?” Virgil asked him with a small smile, but was received with little more than a glare as they entered the control room.

The whole area was bathed in a red glow as the machine above them continued to build up to critical mass. Virgil noticed the scientist trying to carry what looked like a heavy piece of equipment up the side of the central structure while trying to climb at the same time.

“You got to leave!” Virgil called to her. “Now!”

“Not a chance. I have to get this grounded before it blows!” she responded, but a sudden burst of energy had her falling and crying out in fear as she tumbled through the air. The device fell from her hands as she grabbed for a ledge.

Without a second thought, Scott was running to get to her, crouching above her position to pull her back up to safety. He led her back over to where Virgil was waiting.

“How can we help?” Virgil asked, watching as she picked up the device again. The way she moved proved it was incredibly heavy and as she handed it over, Virgil was surprised that she was able to lift it, let alone climb as well.

“I’ve been trying to get this grounding receiver to the top of the generator ever since I spoke to your engineer. Can you help?” She looked at them hopefully as she looked back from gesturing to the highest point of the generator.

“FAB,” they replied in unison. Without another word, Scott handed his grapple gadget to Virgil, trusting that his brother would understand, as he began the difficult climb up the structure.

“I’ll be at the control station,” the engineer advised, moving away as Virgil fired the gadget, the grapple wire whizzing away, up and over a supporting arm and back down to Virgil who attached the powerful magnet to the receiver and began to winch it back up towards Scott.

Above him, the elder Tracy was waiting at the bottom of the ladder rungs, the final section of the generator. As the receiver was hoisted up to him, he leaned out and grabbed it, pulling it close. He stood at the bottom of the rungs and looked up towards the top. The aurora spiralling around was making him feel a little dizzy, but he pushed the feeling away and began to climb.

It was hard going with the heavy receiver tying up one of his hands, but he made it to the top. A look at the base of the receiver made it clear to him that all he had to do was stand it in the four holes. Leaning back, he twisted it round so it pointed skyward and jammed it into the sockets, but a sudden burst of energy as it made contact threw him from the ladder.

“Scott!” Virgil yelled in alarm, watching as Scott fell, practically bouncing off the wall of the generator before sliding the last few metres. He landed in a crouch, but fell forward as soon as he stopped.

Virgil ran over to him, dropping to his side and helping him up. “Scott, are you alright?”

He nodded, leaning on both Virgil and the wall to stand back up, then headed back over to the control area.

“ _Scott, Virgil, the energy b-build up has reached critical,_ ” Brains reported.

“We have to go,” Virgil said, pulling gently on the arm of the engineer, but Scott headed back over. “Scott, no!”

“I have to keep trying,” he said, his eyes full of desperation as he looked back at Virgil, hoisting the receiver back into his arms.

Virgil instructed the engineer to wait by the door and went back over to Scott who was trying to climb back up again. He grabbed his arm and pulled him back down. “Sometimes you have to say there’s nothing else you can do,” he said.

Scott was about to reply when Brains interrupted. “ _Actually, there is. We can use Max. I’ve just finished running the calculations. His c-conductivity has been rated up to 2.5 gigawatts. That should be enough._ ”

“Let’s hope so,” Virgil said, exchanging a glance with Scott. He was relieved to see he approved of this idea, watching as he placed the receiver down on the ground and stepped out of the way.

“Okay, Brains, send Max in,” Scott instructed and watched as the little robot trundled forward, extracting two grapple gadgets from within his storage compartment.

As he hoisted himself up, Virgil turned to Scott and the engineer. “We need to get to of here,” he said, directing them out to the safety of the pod.

* * *

They waited inside it until, after what felt like an eternity, they saw the aurora change from funnelling red to slowly flowing green and John’s voice sounded over the comm. as they climbed out.

“ _Energy grounded._ ”

“It worked,” Scott breathed, leaning against the side of the vehicle.

Virgil sighed in relief as he looked over at the sagging form of his older brother. He let his body slide down until he was sat on the floor, his helmet against his knees.

“You can say that again,” Virgil said, tapping the IR badge on his sash. “Good work, Brains. You and Max.”

“ _I knew he could do it,_ ” Brains said, then hesitated a moment. “ _Would you mind going back to get him? I sh-should warn you, it is likely he’s suffered some damage._ ”

“FAB,” Virgil replied, then glanced at Scott. “You wait here, I’ll go back in.”

He didn’t even receive a reply from Scott. With another worried sigh, he headed back inside to see what he could retrieve of Max.

* * *

After a difficult search and a worried call back to inform Brains that he’d only been able to find Max’s processor chip, he headed back out. The engineer had already told them she was staying on site to help with the clean-up and rebuild efforts and as soon as he came out of the door, she’d headed straight back in.

Virgil passed her in the doorway, offering her a smile, which she returned with a handshake and a heartfelt thank you. The smile he’d worn slipped when he saw Scott exactly as he’d left him.

“Hey, Scott?” Virgil said as he sat down next to him. “Come on, time to go back to base.”

Scott lifted his head and looked around. “Virgil?”

“Yeah, Scott,” he replied, concerned at how out of it he seemed. “Think we can get up? It’s freezing sat in this snow.”

Scott looked around again and got up, using the pod behind him to support him. “Yeah.” He looked back at Virgil again, his tone clearing. “Yeah, come on. Let’s go home. We might be needed for another call.”

“Scott, all you’ll be needed for is to report straight to your room for some sleep,” Virgil retorted, but Scott was already walking away.

* * *

The flight home was uneventful. Virgil had contacted John and asked him to keep a close eye on Scott to make sure he got back alright.

When he finally approached the island and was granted clearance, it was with relief that the journey and mission were over.

As he disembarked from his Thunderbird and headed for the hangar exit, he heard noises coming from One’s silo. With a frown, he followed the sounds and found Scott stood at the base of his craft, a tool box at his feet and the panel off one of the exhausts.

“Scott?” Virgil asked, approaching.

“Hi, Virgil,” he replied, his focus entirely on the job in front of him.

“Uh, Scott, what are you doing?”

“Changing the filter in the flow intake,” he said, reaching into the box to swap his screwdriver for a spanner.

“But…” Virgil frowned slightly. “But didn’t Brains do that a few days ago?”

“She’s got to be at her best at all times,” he muttered.

Virgil reached out and took hold of the spanner, gently removing it from his grasp. “Scott, we’ve only just got home. You need to rest.”

He shook his head, his expression looking almost erratic and he glanced around. “No, I have to be ready to answer the calls,” he said.

Virgil placed the spanner down and put his hands on Scott’s shoulders. “Come on, let’s go back upstairs. At least sit down with me for a little while before you come down here to tinker.”

Scott looked around then sighed a little and nodded. “Alright, five minutes.”

He followed Virgil back up into the living room where Gordon and Alan were both waiting, looking thoroughly refreshed for their rest.

As they entered the room, Brains approached them, a smile on his face.

“Sorry, Brains,” Virgil said. “That’s all that’s left.”

“Hi, Max,” he replied cheerfully as Scott went to sit down. “You made it seem like it was a c-complete loss.”

“But we couldn’t salvage the rest of him,” Virgil replied.

“This is Max,” he said, holding up the chip. “Everything else is simply spare p-parts. You really shouldn’t get emotionally attached to your equipment, gentlemen. Come on, Max. Let’s go find you some legs.”

Virgil watched him go, amused, then went to join Scott. “Ah, it’s good to be home.”

“Yeah, it is,” Scott mumbled distractedly.

“Let’s get some rest,” Virgil suggested, putting his feet up on Scott’s lap.

“You gonna tell us what happened out there?” Alan asked.

“Nope,” Virgil replied, settling down.

The sound of their comm. beeping drew their attention.

“ _Sorry guys, we have a situation,_ ” John said, apologetically.

Scott was immediately sitting up, pushing Virgil’s feet roughly from his lap. “What have we got, John?”

Virgil sat up, staring at him in disbelief. “Scott, no, you can’t! You’ve got to rest! We both just have to rest.”

Scott stood up, ignoring him. “Give me the details when I’m airborne, John,” he said.

“Scott!” Virgil called. “Stop!”

Virgil was just heading over to stop him from going when Scott stopped. He leaned against the wall briefly, swaying a little before his eyes rolled back in his head and his knees buckled. Before he could even react, Scott had stumbled and fallen to the floor, sprawled out at the base of his hidden entrance.

Virgil turned to look at Gordon and Alan who both looked frightened for their brother, then up at John who was still hovering above the table.

“Gordon, Alan, see to the call,” he said. “We still need to answer it. You up to it?”

They nodded and without another word, headed towards their own entrances.

Virgil looked up at John. “Give them the information they need. I’ll see to Scott and keep you informed,” he said, gently picking him up and hoisting him into his arms. “And John? Help them. The boys. Help keep them focused.” He looked down at Scott as his head lolled back over his arm and his eyes remained closed.

John just nodded as Virgil made for the sickroom.

He kicked the door open and headed straight for the closest bed, placing him carefully onto it and checking him over. He knew what this was, though. Exhaustion. Scott had literally run himself into the floor this time.

* * *

When Scott woke, he looked around in confusion. The room was dark and not his own.

Squinting through still tired eyes, he managed to make out the details of his surroundings and his exhausted mind finally processed that he was in the sickroom.

A sound beside him drew his attention and he turned his head to see Virgil sat in the chair, his head down and his breathing even as he slept.

As he woke up more, he began to realise that he ached all over from his head right down to his feet and he couldn’t understand why. He tried to stretch a little but it hurt so much, causing him to groan.

On hyper alert to any changes in his brother, Virgil stirred from his sleep and sat up, looking over at him. “Hey, Scott. How are you feeling?” he asked, softly.

Scott groaned again. “I feel like you ran me over with Two. Why do I hurt so much?”

Virgil reached out to him, his hand gently probing his brother’s forehead to check for fever. “Don’t you remember the mission?”

Scott frowned slightly as Virgil moved his hand. “The station…”

“Yeah. You probably ache from where you fell from top to bottom.”

Scott winced as the memory returned. “Oh. Oh yeah,” he said.

“But aside from the aching, Scott, are you alright? You really had me worried on that mission. I know you can be hot headed, but I’ve never known you to be so reckless you’d put yourself in danger.”

Scott sighed, closing his eyes again. He felt Virgil shift and the depression of his bed as the younger man sat down next to him. “Seriously, what’s going on with you?” he asked, repeating the question he’d asked before and hoping for a better answer. “You’ve literally push yourself so hard you collapsed in the process of answering a callout.” He reached out to take Scott’s hand and was surprised to feel it shaking. “Please, Scott. Talk to me. This isn’t right. What would have happened if you’d collapsed like that out on the call?”

“I know,” he whispered.

“You can’t keep pushing everyone and everything to the limit,” Virgil said softly. “And that includes you. Look at the state you’ve got yourself into.”

“I don’t push anyone harder than they need to be pushed,” Scott said.

“I beg to differ,” Virgil said. “You’re the one in the sickroom having passed out through exhaustion.”

“You don’t know what you’re capable of unless you keep pushing,” Scott answered, shaking his head but regretting it instantly as his neck protested the movement.

“Scott…”

“Someone has got to step forward. I’m just doing what Dad did. He never gave up.”

“So that’s what this is all about,” Virgil said, finally understanding. “Dad worked hard, yes, but even he knew there were limits. He couldn’t do it all.”

Scott turned away from him, grimacing at the pain as he shifted position. “But I have to do it all. I couldn’t save Dad but maybe I can make up for it.”

If a few words could knock Virgil sideways, those were the ones. It wasn’t just a case of trying to live up to the great Jeff Tracy, it was guilt. “By saving everyone else? Scott, keeping our family safe is equally important and we all need you to be around.”

Scott looked back at him at last, tears forming in his eyes. “I miss him,” he admitted, breaking down and openly sobbing. Virgil just squeezed the hand he was holding gently, rubbing small circles on the back of it with his thumb. It was the first time he’d heard Scott express how he felt about their father’s disappearance. He’d frequently talk about what their father would have done or wanted, but he’d never spoken of how his disappearance had affected him.

Virgil sat quietly with him, letting him release all the pent up emotion, occasionally whispering soft words of reassurance until finally Scott began to calm down. He offered his brother a tissue. “I miss him too. We all do. It’s hard to think he’s gone.”

Scott reached up to wipe his eyes and blow his nose. “If I let myself think about it,” he said. “Keeping busy with International Rescue is the only thing I have to keep me from going crazy.”

Virgil sighed, finally understanding what had driven his recklessness over this mission. He just wanted to keep busy to stop from thinking about what he was missing and having down time meant time to dwell on it. Virgil smiled, squeezing the hand he was still holding. “Hey, you’ve still got us,” he said softly.

Scott managed a small laugh and nodded. “Yeah,” he said, his eyes drifting closed again. “Yeah,” he whispered, falling asleep again.

Virgil smiled at him, gently pushing his hair from his face. “Rest, Scott. You rest up.” He settled back into his chair and fell asleep watching his brother.


End file.
